SENIOR ME N
me. I wanted people to see me as the champion, and I feel like a champion today.” For bronze medalist Josh Farris, a member of
the Broadmoor SC, the turnaround was even more profound. Te 20-year-old, fourth in the U.S. the past two seasons, struggled with a sprained right ankle and lack of confidence this fall. He withdrew from his first Grand Prix assignment and placed 11th (last) at his second event, NHK Trophy, where he failed to land a fully clean jump element. “He told me on the bus in Japan that this
would never happen again,” said Damon Allen, who, with Christy Krall, coaches Farris in Colora- do Springs. “Sometimes you learn so much when things like that happen. It made him say, ‘I want to fight for this.’ He’s been a new man ever since.” Jeffrey Buttle choreographed the skater’s
short program to Ed Sheeran’s “Give Me Love,” and it was the most contemporary, heartfelt rou- tine of the event, including a superb triple Axel. Although Farris turned out of the landing of the second jump of a triple flip-triple toe combina- tion, he still earned 90.40 points for second place entering the free skate. “Tis whole year I felt self-deprecating and defeated, so the fact that I can even step out of a jump and still get that score is nice to know,” Farris said.
Te Colorado Springs skater continued his
stunning turnaround with a poignant free skate to music from Schindler’s List, opening with a fully rotated quad toe loop with a step out on the land- ing. Te rest of his elements, including two triple Axels, were near-perfect, and he earned 267.98 points. In fact, Farris did too much: His third com- bination, a triple Lutz-double toe loop, was ruled invalid, because it included his third double toe. Te miscue may have cost him the title. “I fought through the whole program; I was
Adam Rippon
combination with a triple toe, and a triple flip- half loop-triple Salchow combination — was stellar, and he earned 187.77 points, a new U.S. record for a free skate. He finished with 272.48 points. It was a stunning turnaround for Rippon, a
two-time World Junior champion who won U.S. silver in 2012 but faded to eighth in the U.S. last season. He gave full credit to his coaching team in Artesia, California, headed by Rafael Arutunian. “I wanted to come here and show not only
I am ready for the national championships, but ready to fight for the World podium,” Rippon said. “I came into this week feeling like I had been written off, and I wanted to change that talk about
18 MARCH 2015
terrified,” Farris said. “I was so nervous I would skate like [garbage]. I was talking to (sports psy- chologist) Dr. Caroline Silby and we figured out I just need to fight, and it’s going to be really, really hard, and that’s what I did. I fought as hard as I could and I think it paid off.” Max Aaron, also a member of the Broadmoor SC and the 2013 U.S. champion, landed two quadruple Salchows, the second in combination with a triple toe, as well as two triple Axels and four other triples in his free skate to the Gladiator soundtrack. But his program components score was lower than that of the top three, and he settled for fourth place with 259.19 points. Four-time U.S. champion Jeremy Abbott,
third after the short, skated a stirring free skate to Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” but fell on a quad toe loop and the second jump of a triple flip-half loop-triple Salchow combination. A member of the Detroit Skating Club, Abbott placed fifth with 258.29 points, his lowest finish in nine trips to the U.S. Championships as a senior man. “I wanted to be in the top three and have a chance at going to the World Championships,” the 29-year-old said. “For me, it’s really difficult because I get a lot of criticism for peaking this
time of the year, but when I don’t peak at the U.S. Championships, I don’t make the World team. Ten, when I have the trajectory to peak at the right time, I don’t get the ability to continue. It’s such a double-edged sword.” Brown, Rippon and Farris were named to the U.S. team for the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships in Shanghai, held March 23–29. Tere, they will contend with a battery of skat- ers — including World and Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu; three-time European champion Javier Fernandez; and Olympic silver medalist De- nis Ten, among others — who include multiple quadruple jumps in their programs. Brown, who has yet to attempt a quad in competition, won’t be rushed into the jump just to satisfy a timetable. “I’m going to focus on what I can do, and
do it well,” he said. “I want to get consistent with what I have. As soon as it is ready, it will go into the program.”
Rippon and Farris both plan quads — Rip-
pon, the Lutz; Farris, the toe loop — in both of their programs in Shanghai. To Rippon, it is a risk worth taking. “Doing the quad Lutz, it makes me threaten-
ing,” he said. “It’s the hardest quad, and no one else is doing it.” Now that Farris’ ankle injury has improved,
his coach doesn’t think the quad will be an issue. “His numbers are getting better all the time,”
Allen said. “He’s hitting five or six a day. It’s more consistent than it’s ever been. I feel he can succeed with it.”
Joshua Farris
PHOTOS BY JAY ADEFF
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